The
world's biggest oil firm is unleasing a PR offensive
to win the environmental war of words

by Terry Macalister

Monday
June 18, 2001

ExxonMobil,
the world's largest oil group, is planning a public relations offensive
to win back consumers and investors, confidential documents suggest
- amid fears the company is losing the war of words over climate change
which has triggered a petrol boycott.

The public
relations drive comes as the Stop Esso Campaign has widened its action
against the oil major, drawing in Germany, Norway, and New Zealand
as well as Britain, where it started.

A briefing
paper drawn up for Exxon in Britain by Insight Research and passed
on to the Guardian calls for an opinion survey to try to gauge the
depth of anger against the company.

The oil group
hopes to win back public support by asking survey respondents to be
aware "the slight warming that has occurred in the last 50 years
is likely the result of natural climate variations rather than energy
use."

It also hopes
to convince them "the (Kyoto) treaty would have little effect
on global warming because it excludes many countries which are among
the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases."

Arguments
against those of the environmentalists have been posted on Esso UK's
and ExxonMobil's corporate website. Similar information in hard copy
has been mailed to financiers in investment areas, such as Frankfurt.

Stop Esso
campaign managers say the Insight survey suggests the company is panicking
about the effect of the boycott which has seen support from celebrities
such as Bianca Jagger and 350,000 hits on its website.

Cindy Baxter,
a spokeswoman for the campaign, said: "The questions in the survey
are loaded to give Exxon the replies they want. I think its a poll
designed to be published and they will then claim the public is unaware
of the campaign against it or that there is little support for Kyoto."

Last night
the company admitted it was worried about the forecourt action but
would not comment on whether it was having any marked effect on petrol
sales. A spokesman for Esso UK said: "We are concerned about
the boycott and are trying to make our position clearer. The main
thing for us is to put over the facts."

He would not
comment on whether the arguments over global warming and fossil fuels
were being won or lost, but confirmed that public opinion surveys
were being used. "We undertake market surveys from time to time
and always include topical issues," he said.

Exxon, which
trades in Britain as Esso, has been targeted by green activists because
it is seen as the biggest corporate opponent of the Kyoto treaty on
climate change.

Anger has
intensified over the last few days a US president George Bush reiterated
his determination not to support Kyoto.

Exxon is considered
a big influence on Mr Bush because, environmentalists say, it bankrolled
the Bush presidential race to the White House, though Exxon denies
this.

Other oil
majors, such as BP and Shell, have tried to avoid confrontation over
their continued commitment to fossil fuels by also investing in renewable
energy sources. The European companies support Kyoto and have made
public commitments to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Exxon's position
on global warming will gain some support today when Professor Philip
Stott of London University argues at a meeting organised by the Institute
of Economic Affairs that Kyoto is scientifically unjustified and politically
unfeasible.